Chandra Shrestha is a Kathmandu-based visual artist whose practice has developed over more than three decades. Working primarily through abstraction, she brings together color, movement, and symbolism in ways that feel both intuitive and deeply rooted in cultural memory.

She completed her Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Tribhuvan University in 2012 and has remained actively engaged in the contemporary art scene in Nepal and beyond. Her work reflects a sustained engagement with painting as a space for reflection, rhythm, and inner experience.

Chandra Shrestha has presented solo exhibitions in Nepal and South Korea, while also participating in group exhibitions over many years. Among these, her ongoing involvement in Blowing Wind with the Himalayan Nepali Artist Group reflects her continued presence within a wider artistic community.

In 2006–2007, she received the Asian Fellowship Award from the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea. This recognition marked an important point in her career and contributed to the international dimension of her practice.

Her paintings are shaped by the spiritual and ceremonial life that runs through everyday culture in Nepal and across South Asia. Rather than depicting the visible world directly, she uses abstraction to translate atmosphere, ritual energy, and symbolic presence into visual form.

In her work, colour becomes more than a formal element. It carries memory, devotion, celebration, and movement. References to prayer flags, ritual offerings, seasonal festivals, and sacred relationships with nature inform a visual language that remains open, layered, and contemplative.

Education:

• Master’s Degree in Fine Arts, Tribhuvan University, 2012

Solo Exhibitions:

• Culture Belief, Goyang Art Studio, South Korea, 2007
• Mask, Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, Kathmandu, 2007
• Solo Exhibition, Family Academy, South Korea, 2012
• Six solo exhibitions across Nepal and South Korea

Group Exhibitions:

• Blowing Wind, Himalayan Nepali Artist Group, 2013–2024
• Participation in numerous group exhibitions in Nepal and internationally

Awards:

• Asian Fellowship Award, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea, 2006–2007

Artist Statement: Chandra Shrestha’s abstract practice is informed by the spiritual and symbolic life embedded in South Asian cultures. Drawing from rituals, festivals, sacred offerings, prayer flags, and the reverence given to nature, her work reflects a worldview in which all forms of life are interconnected. Through colour, shape, texture, and movement, she translates this cultural and spiritual energy into a visual language that feels meditative, expressive, and open to imagination.